Singer set to contest the race for mayor
WHEN WEST Yorkshire elects its first metro mayor next year following the signing of a £ 1.8bn devolution deal with the Government, voters will likely see familiar names on the ballot.
But for 30- year- old punk singer Rio Goldhammer, from Bradford, the time has come for someone outside the political sphere to shake things up.
Mr Goldhammer, vocalist for band 1919, said: “Although we’re not huge, we can fully fill a club in most major cities worldwide which means I have a platform that I think I’m able to draw attention to certain issues quicker and more effectively than other people can, the main people like MPs and councillors.”
Mr Goldhammer, who lives in Bradford, wants to run on a platform of change.
“The first thing that really made me think is to do with how our refugees are treated. Now we’ve got so many people that are locked up, some of some of which are in South Yorkshire,” said Rio, who has a masters in politics from the University of Leeds.
“My family were Jewish refugees from Poland and Austria, so 70 years ago, it was us on boats looking for a better life and half my family found it either in London, Australia, or Israel, or America, scattered around the place, and others didn’t,” he said.
Other policies include taxing private schools to hand money to state education, and capping rent for those struggling due to the pandemic, as well as looking to Europe for inspiration on how to improve life for renters in general.